Expectations from (reasonable) fans...

[Caturday]

My expectation is that each game every player brings a kitten from a local shelter and we stage a game of kittens versus kittens from the other team. The kittens will determine the victor. The coaches will still have the same salary and players will receive scholarships for kitten picking ability.

 

[KeEpEr]

Thinking about it and actually doing something about it are two entirely different exercises.

Sounds pretty simple.

 

[KeEpEr]

My expectations are:
A reasonable shot at 6+ wins per year (e.g. 3 wins OOC and 3 ACC wins- schedule toward a likely 3 wins OOC plus schedule in 1 'name' team for fun). Occasionally make a run at a division title (once every 3-4 years). To expect more is unrealistic, IMHO. That's not LOWF, just reality.

And that is exactly where we are and have been for a decade. Good post.

 

[Hwaker]

Amen. Those are pretty much mine as well. Try and get to a bowl game each year and sprinkle in some 7 or even 8 win seasons. I also realize that Wake is gonna have those crappy 3 or 4 win seasons too. That's what I've been preaching for while now. Just make a bowl baby.

Totally in.... These are not low expectations but solid goals for this program unless you are ready to sell your soul. I am not willing to see Wake become a football factory since I see that as only occurring if we lose our academic integrity. Ask Carolina what that feels like and come back to me.

Stanford is similar. They have great players from time to time but do not have great teams every year.

 

[Hwaker]

My expectation is that each game every player brings a kitten from a local shelter and we stage a game of kittens versus kittens from the other team. The kittens will determine the victor. The coaches will still have the same salary and players will receive scholarships for kitten picking ability.

A really inventive and well thought through perspective. Thanks for sharing and please stay on the meds.

 

[P4nthers11]

We have the POTENTIAL to have a nasty front 7 next year but all our guys have to get stronger, meaner, nastier and take the playmaker lead from Whitlock.

Guys like Souza, Booi, Gallagher (?), Vogelsang, Redding, Floyd, Allen who maybe will play some DE, Thompson --- meaner, nastier, bigger, faster - we have enough bodies...

Lots of names on that list who have shown nothing to date. Wishful thinking to expect them to suddenly blossom into stars. As for the young guys, I'm hoping for the best but I think we handcuff ourselves with our scheme. A 3 man front is not a pass rushing front. I don't care what bs is spouted about our unique "system". 3-4 linemen are not typically sack generators. We need to pressure with our LBs. There we have a motley group of undersized young talent and slower older guys. Allen has tools but right now Jackson and Olson need at least twenty pounds more on them. And spare me their sunshine weights. We need to get bigger and faster.

 

[PhDeac]

Totally in.... These are not low expectations but solid goals for this program unless you are ready to sell your soul. I am not willing to see Wake become a football factory since I see that as only occurring if we lose our academic integrity. Ask Carolina what that feels like and come back to me.

Stanford is similar. They have great players from time to time but do not have great teams every year.

BC was Grobe's goal when he started. BC has had some hiccups as of late, but they managed to be a consistent 7-8 win program and make bowls without becoming a football factory.

 

[KeEpEr]

BC was Grobe's goal when he started. BC has had some hiccups as of late, but they managed to be a consistent 7-8 win program and make bowls without becoming a football factory.

Tough to match that as they are the only game in the state. Also, every Catholic kid in the northeast that Notre Dame doesn't want, they get.

 

[PhDeac]

Oh. So what does that say about Grobe then?

 

[Hwaker]

BC was Grobe's goal when he started. BC has had some hiccups as of late, but they managed to be a consistent 7-8 win program and make bowls without becoming a football factory.

Ph, I agree. What BC did under O'Brien is very much the gold standard. Interesting to note how the BC crowd got upset there wasn't more than a bowl every year....

 

[PhDeac]

When Grobe made that statement, BC was turning into a 7/8 win program after years mired in 4/5 win land.

BC went on to be a 8/9 win program before entering the ACC and peaked at 10/11 wins during the Matt Ryan years.

I think Wake could be a 8/9 win program in the ACC.

 

[1976Deac]

I am most impressed with our staff's ability to develop players who were lightly regarded in high school...perhaps undersized or finished their careers recovering from injuries.

However, I have become concerned about our ability to recruit players who have enough potential to develop into major factors in the ACC. This is especially true of linemen, both offensive and defensive.

The defensive tackles that we really need are so rare they're damn near non-existent for Wake Forest. Apparently there just are not a lot of large fast defensive linemen out there to recruit, to start with. The likelihood then of finding ones that genuinely want to go to class, who like to study and who want to get a serious college education, is small. Then we have to recruit against the Stanfords, the Notre Dames, and the Northwesterns for those.

Coach Grobe pretty much has to try to "grow" his own defensive linemen. With the number of good linebackers we have, no wonder we run the 3-4 scheme. We probably have to.

 

[1976Deac]

Boston College is a good school. I didn't realize how good until recently. Their graduate schools are also very good. Their law school is higher rated than even Wake's, which is up there.

 

[ChrisL68]

Having the Nease boys not live up to their billing have really hurt us. On paper, that was the best DL recruiting we have ever done.

 

[PhDeac]

The defensive tackles that we really need are so rare they're damn near non-existent for Wake Forest. Apparently there just are not a lot of large fast defensive linemen out there to recruit, to start with. The likelihood then of finding ones that genuinely want to go to class, who like to study and who want to get a serious college education, is small. Then we have to recruit against the Stanfords, the Notre Dames, and the Northwesterns for those.

Coach Grobe pretty much has to try to "grow" his own defensive linemen. With the number of good linebackers we have, no wonder we run the 3-4 scheme. We probably have to.

Caldwell managed to recruit Big Fred Robbins and Calvin Pace. Montique Sharpe had a cup of coffee in the league as well.

 

[IamThunderbolt]

Ph - Caldwell was a pretty good recruiter and we had good talent relative to the status of the program under him. We squandered a lot of individual talent in the 90s

 

[Lectro]

Caldwell managed to recruit Big Fred Robbins and Calvin Pace. Montique Sharpe had a cup of coffee in the league as well.

Jim C's staff did a better job. Grobe had some misfortune -- with Uriah Grant (hurt that kids career imo) but also had some enlightened moments as when the LSU staff contacted the Deacs about Boo Robinson. John Russell was a developmental type who was able to add size needed.... Jeremy Thompson could have been healthier in his time but was a force. The Deacon staff talking Jyles Tucker out of a transfer to Hampton was a win.

 

[Lectro]

Ph - Caldwell was a pretty good recruiter and we had good talent relative to the status of the program under him. We squandered a lot of individual talent in the 90s

I like Jim Caldwell. He is a hard nosed no-nonsense coach who genuinely cares for his charges. Is he the most talented game-day coach...no, but he is still a helluva coach, recruiter and representative. Mom's feel good about handing their kids over to him.

He had a lot riding on C.J. -- that kid succeeds and he is able to add Jason Anderson and Fabian Davis (and certainly some other recruits would have joined)...then the story might have had a much different twist.

 

[PhDeac]

Jim C's staff did a better job. Grobe had some misfortune -- with Uriah Grant (hurt that kids career imo) but also had some enlightened moments as when the LSU staff contacted the Deacs about Boo Robinson. John Russell was a developmental type who was able to add size needed.... Jeremy Thompson could have been healthier in his time but was a force. The Deacon staff talking Jyles Tucker out of a transfer to Hampton was a win.

Reference my post several weeks ago about the staff picking up DT right before signing day. They'd done a good job of scrambling but after this lengthy should have to.

 

[diverdeac]

Sometimes you lose to a better team. They are older and more physical up front. Just a fact. You really want to argue? Mississippi State has 8 players considering leaving early for the NFL and Wake has 1.

I'm all for getting assed up over a loss but that team was physical in the trenches and it won the day. My team is dominated by sophomores and displays the hallmarks of a soph led team...namely,"inconsistent". What does inconsistent mean? It means that on half of the plays I say "way to go!" and the other half brings out a "What the fk was that!?"

Bottom line: Mississippi State was the better squad and Wake will be better for having played them.

I saw every game each team played this year. MSU is not better. Tanner Price lost that game Fri night. He was terrible. In fact I though we manned up pretty well against State's physical team. DEFINITELY SHOWED SOME TOUGHNESS.

Tanner cannot play like that and us win. Also Lobo sucks and needs to go. WHy this continues is beyond me.